Back To You
by CatherineWillows
Summary: Catherine gets attacked and Grissom realizes he has feelings for her. Is it too late? CG
1. Chapter 1

Back To You 1/?  
  
Rating: PG-13 to be safe, a little swearing  
  
AN: Thanks so much to Manda for all the help and encouragement! You Rock!! :)  
  
Disclaimer: The show and the characters don't belong to me.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Catherine Willows sat at home on her living room couch, waiting for Eddie to show up. She had called him earlier, and told him she needed to talk to him, and it was important. He said her he would be over.  
  
She was going to serve him with divorce papers.  
  
She had carefully planned out what precautions she was going to take incase something happened. She made sure Lindsey was at her sister's house, having a sleepover with Jeremy. Catherine didn't want her around incase Eddie got physical and she saw or heard something that wasn't meant for little eyes. She didn't want Lindsey to know that her father beat her mother.  
  
She then had called Grissom and told him she was serving Eddie with divorce papers, He asked if she wanted him to come over for moral support. She declined his offer, because if Eddie saw Gil he be even more angry. He then asked if she would call when she was done, so he could be sure that she was alright. She smiled, and told him that she would as soon as he left.  
  
Everything was planned, and now she just had to play the waiting game.  
  
Suddenly the door opened and in stumbled Eddie. She got up off the blue leather couch, and as he came closer she could smell the alcohols on his breathe. He had been drinking.  
  
"Eddie, I told you I had to talk to you about something important, and you had came over here drunk?" she said, furious.  
  
"I am not!" he scoffed. "Now tell me what was so important that you couldn't wait another 2 days until it was my turn with Lindsey."  
  
She grabbed a stack of papers off the antique chestnut desk and handed them to Eddie. "We're getting divorced"  
  
"You bitch!" he spat as he lunged towards her, pushing her into a wall, before they both tumbled to the floor. She tried rolling over so she could wiggle out from under him, but he pinned her arms down the the floor and she couldn't move. He delivered a swift couple punches to the right side of her face,  
  
"Had enough?" he asked.  
  
She rolled over, making him lose his balance and fall off of her.  
  
"You're divorcing me so you can be with that bugman, aren't you?!" he yelled, knocking her around. "ANSWER ME!"  
  
"No I'm not, Eddie. I just can't do with this anymore. You come over here and hurt me, and then tell me your sorry. It's happened too many times, and I'll be damned if I'm going to be the one who gives you the power to control me like that."  
  
She was sick of the violence, and hiding the hurt from the people she loved. She was sick of pretending that she was alright for the sake of their marriage, and most of all she was sick of being scared of Eddie, like she had been for so many years.  
  
He charged at her in a drunken rage, knocking her over once again, onto the chair beside her. The rough upholstery pressing patterns into the delicate skin of her cheek, seething as her gaze rose to meet Eddie's. He was sweating, the heat of the moment was catching up to him, and her mind whirled, eager to take advantage of that exhaustion.  
  
Her soon-to-be-ex fell to the floor as she yanked sharply on the edge of the oriental rug which sat beneath them, such an innocent piece of decor until she'd really thought of what else it could do. Ironic- he'd always hated that rug.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Hello?" said the alert voice on the other line.  
  
"Hi Gil, its Me." she said quickly, jumbling words." He came over and he was drunk. I told him about the divorce and he attacked me, I yanked the rug out from under him and he's ..."  
  
With her back turned to Eddie, she didn't notice he was conscious and slowly creeping up behind her until she saw his reflection on the mirror across the hall. He was walking towards her with a long, shiny pole in hand. "Oh my God! Ed..." she screamed as he hit her over the head with the brass fire poker. Her limp body slumped to the floor unconscious and the phone went silent.  
  
As a final act of being superior he kicked her limp figure in the stomach, causing her slim frame to slide gently across the hardwood floor.  
  
"Sweet dreams, Princess" he said, as he walked out the open front door.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Please review. Let me know what you think! 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Back To You 2/?  
  
Rating: PG-13 (to be safe)  
  
A/N Thank you so much Angie for beta-ing.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Catherine, Catherine, are you there?" he yelled into his phone.  
  
He quickly grabbed his keys and ran for his Tahoe.  
  
Grissom cursed himself for not insisting he come over to make sure she would be alright. Pulling out his cell phone he dialed 911.  
  
"911, what's your emergency?" said the woman's voice replied on the line.  
  
"This is Gil Grissom CSI and I have a possible CSI down at 59 Capalano Drive."  
  
"Calm down sir, can you tell me what happened?"  
  
"I don't know,exactly. Catherine called me earlier and said that she was going to serve her husband with divorce papers. He has a history of drinking and being abusive.She called again, and told me that he attacked her when he found out,and then she screamed and the phone went dead. God, I should have been here!." he yelled.  
  
"Okay, sir, there is an ambulance on the way."  
  
"Thanks," he said as he hung up.  
  
He sped all the way to Catherine's making the usual 10 minute drive in about 3. As soon as he pulled up to the driveway, he realized the front door was ajar.He rushed into the house to find Catherine,. He stepped through the threshold, and to the left, beside the winding staircase was Catherine's lifeless body.  
  
"Oh my God Catherine," he uttered, rushing to her side to check her pulse.  
  
It was weak but still there.  
  
"Hold on Cath," He said,caressing her cheek with his thumb "The ambulance is going to be here soon".  
  
Grissom could hear the siren of the ambulance get louder, as they turned onto the street.  
  
The paramedics hurried into the house and quickly got Catherine on a stretcher. They stabilized her, and when they wheeled her out to the ambulance she was still unconscious.  
  
"Are you her husband?" the female paramedic asked.  
  
"Yes" he lied, knowing that if he had said no, they wouldn't give him any information at the hospital about her condition.  
  
"What's her name?" she asked.  
  
"Catherine Grissom"  
  
"Okay, Mr.Grissom you can come in the ambulance with your wife." said the other paramedic.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Her GCS is 7," said the male paramdedic.  
  
"BP is dropping.80/50. She's tachy." Stated the female paramedic "Skin's clammy, she's going into shock."  
  
"Give her 2 widebore IV's and Bolus of 2 litres of normal saline, stat."  
  
Grissom watched in fear as they put a tube in down her throuat and administered needles into her slender arm.  
  
"Okay, the fluids are in," replied the male paramedic "BP is going down."  
  
"BP is stable at 100."  
  
"Alright, she's stabilized for now, but she's bleeding internally, we need to get her to the OR." Concluded the female paramedic.  
  
The ambulance pulled into the Desert Springs Hospital, and Catherine was rushed to the Operating Room.  
  
Grissom sat in the waiting room, head in his hands, waiting anxiously for a doctor to emerge. While he was waiting. one of the nurses on duty brought Grissom a styrofoam cup of coffee.  
  
"Thank you," he said gratefully as he accepted the cup of warm liquid.  
  
"Mr.Grissom," said a tall man dressed in scrubs, who was coming towards him. "I'm Dr. Parker, I operated on your wife. She is in the recovery room. The surgery was a success. She had a perforated lung, and a lascerated liver, which was causing the bleeding. She is in a coma, but we expect her to wake up when the swelling in her brain goes down in the next couple of days."  
  
"Thank God," he said, "Can I see her?"  
  
"She's in the recovery room right now, but we will come and get you when she gets moved to her own room."  
  
"Thank you Dr. Parker," he said.  
  
Grissom then set off in search of the nearest payphone. He called Nancy, Catherine's sister, and Warrick, and told them what happened. When he returned to the waiting room Dr. Parker was standing at the nurses station, this time with normal street clothes on. He approached Grissom.  
  
"Mr.Grissom, your wife has been moved to her own room. You may see her now."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lemme know what you think ( 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Back To You 3/?  
  
Rating: PG-13 to be safe  
  
A/N: Thanks so much to Kelly for beta-ing, and thanks to everybody for their reviews, they're very much appreciated!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Back To You 3/?  
  
Grissom walked into the brightly lit room, with the sunshine pouring in the window. Catherine was neatly tucked between the sheets of the oversized bed. She looked so helpless lying there, her pale complexion matched with the soft tones on the walls.  
  
'It's now or never' he thought to himself.  
  
"Hi Catherine," he said as he pulled a chair up to her bedside.  
  
He thought about what he was going to say, slouched over in the chair still wearing his wrinkled clothes from the night before.  
  
He didn't know how to say it. All of a sudden his emotions erupted "Damnit Cath, I've never been good with emotions, or telling people how I feel and I don't know if you can hear me but I have to tell you this."  
  
He sighed trying to relax a bit, and then began to let his emotions flow freely.  
  
"When you're around its like nothing else matters, like it's just us." He began. "We've been working together for a long time, and I've tried masking my feelings, I've wanted to tell you how I've felt for so long but I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I don't think I could bear not having you in my life."  
  
"We see each other everyday and I think that's what kept me from seeing what was right in front of me," he paused, taking a breath.  
  
They had worked together for a long time, and as much as he didn't want to ruin what they had, he couldn't ignore the fact that they had something special, something more than just friendship. He had hidden the truth from himself for long enough, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let her get away.  
  
"But, the truth is. I love you"  
  
Grissom felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. He had finally gotten it out in the open, even if she couldn't hear him with her ears, maybe her heart could. Saying it the first time had freed him and nothing was going to keep him from saying it over and over again.  
  
With a new sense of confidence at the rightness of his words and feelings he continued, "I love everything about you. The way you laugh, the way you smile, the color you turn when you get embarrassed, and the way you care about everybody around you.  
  
His voice took on a reverence in its tone as his heart begged her to hear him. "You, Catherine Willows are an amazing woman. You're caring and sensitive, and god knows everything anybody would want in a woman. You are the sunshine on my rainy days, and you're the reason I get up in the morning. I love you; I can't imagine my life without you in it. Please come back to me, I need you."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Please let me know what you think. 


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Back To You 4/?  
  
Rating: PG  
  
A/N: Thanks soooooooooo much to Kelly for beta-ing, this wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her! This is an A/U piece.... just had to state that before you read on! hehe  
  
Enjoy!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Back To You 4/?  
  
Catherine was driving home late after her shift at the Sunnyside Diner. The sky was clear and there were millions of stars scattered across the sky. She felt the dread well up inside her as she realized what night this was. Try as she might she couldn't stop the memory from playing out.  
  
She could hear sirens in the distance and slowly realized that they were getting closer. Then suddenly the fire trucks and ambulances rushed past her on the road. She sped up faster to find out what was going on. When she turned onto her street she saw a cloud of smoke billowing into the sky. A house in the neighborhood was on fire.  
  
'Oh, I hope it's not Mr. and Mrs. Wallace's house' she thought,  
  
Getting closer to home she realized that it was her house on fire. She watched in horror as the firefighters battled the blaze.  
  
"MOM, DAD" she screamed, looking around to see if they were in the crowd that had begun to gather. "GRACIE, NANCY"  
  
She pushed through the crowd that had formed trying desperately to find her family. She had remembered that Nancy had gone to a sleepover that Gracie was too sick to attend.  
  
Then it struck her, her parents and little sister Grace was still inside. She ran towards the house before the strong arms of a firefighter pulled her back.  
  
"LET ME GO" she screamed, "MY FAMILY IS IN THERE! I HAVE TO GET TO THEM"  
  
He turned her around and pulled her close, and as that fireman held her she broke down in his arms.  
  
After that moment, she didn't remember much, some blurred memories of the funeral, and her and her little sister moving in with her Aunt Mary. There were too many memories, and to much pain, She had to get away from it all so she left and she ran, as fast and far away as she could.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Catherine sat upright in her bed, opening her eyes, the memories and thoughts from her childhood that she had suppressed for so long came rushing back. As she took in her surroundings the confusion set in, she was back in her old bedroom in Montana. She didn't understand why she was back home. She got up, not realizing she was fully dressed and then made her bed.  
  
When she opened her bedroom door she walked right into the kitchen. Her mother and father were sitting at the dinner table, one was sipping coffee and the other was reading the newspaper.  
  
"Good Morning Catherine" said her mother.  
  
"Mom, Dad? Is that you?" she asked, tears welling in her eyes.  
  
"Dear what's wrong?" asked her mother.  
  
"I've missed you so much" she said, crying.  
  
Her mother got up from the table, giving her daughter a hug. Catherine held her mother tight. It seemed like eternity since she had last seen her.  
  
"Somebody's been waiting to see you" she said, breaking the hug.  
  
Catherine turned around to see her baby sister, still the same as the last time she had seen her.  
  
"Gracie" she yelled  
  
"Catherine!!!"  
  
Gracie ran into her arms and Catherine pulled her close.  
  
"I've missed you" she whispered into Gracie's ear.  
  
The four of them all sat in their usual seats around the circular table, only one seat was empty. Nancy's.  
  
"How's our little Nancy?" asked her mother.  
  
"Nancy is doing great, she is married to a very nice man and has a son named Jeremy."  
  
"We know" said her father.  
  
There was a strange silence, hovering over the conversation like a dark rain cloud.  
  
Her father broke the silence. "Gracie, now you run off and go play while we talk to Catherine"  
  
"Yes Daddy" she said, running over to hug Catherine again. "I can't believe you're here" she said "I've really missed you"  
  
"Me too Gracie"  
  
Gracie gave her a kiss and then ran off to play in her room.  
  
"Cath, can I interest you in some coffee?" asked her father.  
  
"Sure dad that would be great"  
  
He brought Cath over a mug of coffee and then sat down.  
  
"Why am I here?" Catherine asked, sipping her coffee.  
  
Avoiding the question her mother said "You should tell him how you feel Catherine"  
  
"Who" she asked.  
  
"You know who Catherine. Don't let him get away. He's different than the men you've been with. He really loves you."  
  
"I don't understand" Catherine said.  
  
"Hunnie, why don't you go for a walk and clear your mind." suggested her father.  
  
"Okay, I'll be back soon" she said, as she walked towards the back door. She turned around and looked at her parents,  
  
"Guys?" she said "I'm so glad to see you"  
  
They smiled. "Us too sweetheart"  
  
***************  
  
Catherine walked through the lush green grass. She kept walking, enjoying the fresh Montana air and clear blue skies, until the house was nearly out of view.  
  
"Catherine," said a voice coming from the sky.  
  
The voice sounded like Grissom.  
  
"We see each other everyday and I think that's what kept me from seeing what was right in front of me, but, the truth is. I love you"  
  
"Grissom!!!" She yelled. "Can't you hear me?"  
  
Suddenly stormy clouds rolled in and the sky got dark.  
  
She looked around, and in the distance she could see Grissom standing there, wearing a black suit, similar to the one he had worn when she returned from Miami.  
  
"Gil," she yelled.  
  
She began to run towards him. She kept running and running until she had lost sight of the house completely, but she still hadn't gotten any closer. Then, as if he were a hologram, he disappeared.  
  
"You are the sunshine on my rainy days, and you're the reason I get up in the morning. I love you, I can't imagine my life without you in it. Please come back to me, I need you" said his voice, coming through the clouds.  
  
"Grissom," she yelled, "Come Back!!!"  
  
She fell to the ground, tears streaming down her face. She wanted to get back to reality, her reality. The reality where Gil Grissom loved her and she loved him. And if she ever found her way back, she would make things right. There would be no more wasting of time, time she hoped they still had.  
  
Catherine walked back to the house with bloodshot eyes and a tear stained face. As soon as she had gotten back to the kitchen her parents stood up.  
  
"It's time" said her mother.  
  
She heard little footsteps coming down the front stairs, as Gracie came rushing around the corner.  
  
Catherine gave her father and her younger sister a hug and the walked over to her mother.  
  
She hugged her mom for the last time. Her mother kissed her cheek and said "You can do it Catherine. Tell him."  
  
Catherine opened her eyes again and let the relief wash over her. It wasn't too late. Smiling softly she looked over the sleeping form of the man she loved. "No more wasting time," she whispered in a promise to them both.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Please let me know what you think? Constructive criticism is always welcome! 


	5. Chapter 5

Back To You 5/5  
  
Author: Jennifer  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything...  
  
Rating: PG  
  
A/N: First of all I want to thank Kelly and Laura, whom without, I wouldn't have continued this story. And thanks to everybody who reviewed. All of your kind words have given my confidence a tremendous boost.  
  
Anyways this is the last chapter to the story, I hope you have enjoyed it. Please let me know what you thought about this story, and if I should continue, because there might be continuation in the works. Take Care and Enjoy!  
  
Oh yeah, and the song is called "Ride of your life" by John Gregory  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Wishing on a shooting star  
  
But dreams alone will get you far  
  
Can't deny your feelings anymore  
  
The world is waiting right outside your door  
  
What are you waiting for  
  
Catherine thought long and hard about what she had heard in her dream. She had promised she would no longer waste time ignoring the feelings that weren't meant to be ignored.  
  
Eddie had been right; he had realized there was something there before they had themselves.  
  
Grissom had been there for Catherine for as long as she could remember. She had been thinking back on the times and events that she had needed someone, and that someone had always been Grissom.  
  
He had been there to take her under his wing when she decided to become a CSI and he had been there when Lindsey was born, while Eddie was off somewhere drinking.  
  
He had been there to listen and treat her wounds after her many fights with Eddie and he had been her shoulder to cry on when she found out he was cheating.  
  
Picturing her life without him made her shudder. Without him, there would be a big void that nobody could ever fill. He was her best friend and a father figure to Lindsey.  
  
She loved Gil Grissom.  
  
Come on here's your chance  
  
Don't let it slip right through your hands  
  
Are you ready for the ride of your life  
  
Dreams are alright and go nowhere  
  
Just reach out and pull them in and  
  
Get ready for the ride of your life  
  
When Gil opened his eyes, he was greeted with Catherine's warm smile. He bolted upright and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. The look he had on his face made Catherine laugh.  
  
"Cath, you're awake. I was so worried about you" he said, leaning over her, hugging her small body.  
  
At that moment, she knew that Gil Grissom loved her, and she needed him now, more than ever.  
  
In your heart you know what you must do  
  
You only got yourself to answer to  
  
Don't let fear of fallen hold you down  
  
Your spirit flying higher above the clouds  
  
You go up there  
  
She was finally ready to tell him how she felt, it was time.  
  
You are on your way no looking back  
  
There's no future living in the past  
  
"Gil" she began. "We've spent so much time beating around the bush but I don't want to hide my feelings any longer. You've been an amazing friend and have always been there for the good times, and the bad times. You have been there to share my joy with Lindsey, watching her grow up, and have been there to pick up the pieces after my encounters with Eddie. I don't know anyone else I would rather be with than you. I love you"  
  
"I love you too" he said, as he kissed her forehead. Tears sparkled in her eyes, she had made it back to her reality, and her mother had been right.  
  
"No worries, everything will be fine from now on" he said, taking her hand.  
  
She leaned over and kissed him passionately. Hot tears streaming down her face. She had waited so long for this moment and from now on nothing was going to stop them from being together.  
  
You're free at last  
  
You're free at last  
  
With Gil by her side she felt a renewed sense of strength. She no longer feared the future. They would face it together, they would triumph together. 


End file.
